


self destruction at its f-ing best

by rafehearteyesadler (prettierodds)



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Character Study, Ficlet, M/M, One Shot, Sam is an asshole, but so is rafe, lol what’s consistent plot, they even each other out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-08 02:48:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14095446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettierodds/pseuds/rafehearteyesadler
Summary: he prolongs the inevitable. he drags out this fling for as long as he can, enjoys the feeling of rafe for as long as he can, until he feels the strings break and he knows he’s on the edge of something horrible (or rather, something good and it scares the shit out of him) so instead of sticking around to get hurt he sets a date in his mind.





	self destruction at its f-ing best

sam and rafe know exactly how far they can go to push each other’s buttons.

sam knows just how much sarcasm he can (safely) use before rafe’s amusement turns into irritation.

rafe knows how much of an asshole he can be before sam’s fond exasperation turns into hurt feelings.

they can dance up to the line and around the line and away from the line in fluid, graceful movements like they were made to move together.

they become constants at each other’s sides, two halves of a whole; the shoreline mercenaries get worried when rafe walks through camp without sam.

nadine ross does her very best to stay out of her client’s personal lives, but even she is a bit intrigued by their. . . relationship (if you could call it that).

sam, for all his intelligence, doesn’t notice the same _stares_ and _rumors_ that rafe does. of course, rafe has always been the more self obsessed of the two. 

what sam does know is that these last few months he’s felt something he hasn’t felt in years. Something as close to happiness as he’ll probably ever have. and he owes it to rafe, of all people. he says as much one night; it’s been hours of quiet research and flipping through endless pages of textbooks that are almost too dusty to stand, when sam breaks the silence. 

“i don’t think i ever thanked you”

rafe glances up from his book. “for?”

sam shrugs. “everything. getting me out.” when rafe doesn’t say anything he continues, “i like working with you. doing this... searching for pirate treasure like this.” he grins a little at the end, like a kid talking about his favorite cartoon. rafe tries incredibly hard not to smile back. 

“you’re welcome” is all he replies. the room returns to silence except for the occasional turning page.

they never brought up that night again, although the next day rafe confused nadine by smiling at her with an almost pleasant “good morning”. 

it’s only after that that sam starts to worry. he worries because he’s happy, even though nate thinks he’s dead and he just wasted the last thirteen years of his life in prison. he worries because raphael adler is a complete _psychopath_ and sam actually likes spending time with him. he worries because nothing good in his life ever lasts long. so he comes up with a plan that hurts him, makes him feel like an asshole and will effectively ruin whatever semblance of a relationship he had with rafe. sam decides to leave. 

or he would’ve, if rafe hadn’t kissed him. 

and then he’s _really fucked_ , because now he knows they have feelings for each other and it makes the entire situation ten hundred times messier. now, leaving means that he’s brutally stabbing rafe in the back and abandoning his own chance at a happiness he never thought he’d have. 

so he waits. 

he prolongs the inevitable, he drags out this fling for as long as he can, enjoys the feeling of rafe for as long as he can, until he feels the strings break and he knows he’s on the edge of something horrible (or rather, something good and it scares the shit out of him) so instead of sticking around to get hurt he sets a date in his mind. 

seven months after sam realizes he’s (goddamnit) happy, he sneaks out of a dark room in the middle of the night, quiet except for waves against a beach outside and the soft breathing of the man next to him. there’s no note, no souvenir. sam wants rafe to forget him, to realize that this was for the best. if he had known this specific action, this stupid precaution to try and protect his fragile ego, would lead to rafe’s complete mental breakdown ... sam likes to think he would’ve stayed. 

although really, who can say for sure

(once a theif, always a theif)

**Author's Note:**

> i’m aware the punctuation and proper grammar is horrendous.
> 
> i write in the notes app on my phone in bits and pieces 
> 
> i hope you enjoyed anyway


End file.
